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McIlwraith Abolition of Patents for Inventions in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands,' London, 1869, 8vo. 3. 'Colonial Questions pressing for immediate solution in the interest of the Nation and the Empire,' London, 1871, 8vo. 4. 'Copyright and Patents for Inventions. Pleas and plans for cheaper books and greater industrial freedom,' Edinburgh, 1871, 8vo. 5. 'A Glance at the Position and Prospects of the Empire,' London, 1872, 8vo. 6. 'The Patent Question in 1875; with a suggestion as to Copyright,' London, 1875, 8vo. 7. 'Cries in a Crisis for Statesmanship popular and patriotic to test and contest Free Trade in our Manufactures,' London, 1881, 8vo. 8. 'The Patent Bills of 1883: private aims and public claims,' Edinburgh, 1883, 8vo. 9. 'The Questions put by the Royal Commissioners on the Depressed State of Trade dealt with in an independent but sympathetic spirit,' Edinburgh, 1885, 8vo. 10. 'The Scotch Church Question. Letter of an Heritor in a country parish, and Notes on the Question how to adapt and improve the Ecclesiastical System of Scotland without destroying it,' Edinburgh, 1885, 8vo. 11. 'Offhand Notes on "Prayers for Social and Family Worship for the use of Soldiers, Sailors, Colonists, Sojourners in India, prepared by a Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland: a revised edition, 1889,"' Edinburgh, 1892.

[Scots Mag. 1810, p. 957; Men and Women of the Time, 1891; Scotsman, 18 Feb. 1893; Ann. Reg. 1893, ii. 151; List of Members of Parliament (official); Simmonds's British Roll of Honour; Brit. Mus Cat.]  McILWRAITH, THOMAS (1835–1900), premier of Queensland, son of John Mcllwraith of Ayr, Scotland, and his wife Janet Hamilton, daughter of John Howat, was born at Ayr on 17 May 1835, and educated at the academy in that town and at Glasgow University for the profession of an engineer. In 1854 he followed an elder brother to Victoria and obtained employment on the Victorian railways, and afterwards with the well-known contractors, Cornish & Bruce. In 1861, having gradually bought up a good deal of land in Queensland, he began to reside there in part and give much attention to pastoral pursuits; in 1869 he was elected to the legislative assembly of that colony as member for Maranoa, and in 1870 settled entirely in Queensland.

In January 1874 Mcllwraith took office as minister for works and mines under Arthur Macalister [q. v.], but resigned in October, and for some time took no special part in politics. In 1878 he was returned for Mulgrave, and on 21 Jan. 1879, after the defeat of the ministry of the Hon. John Douglas, became premier and colonial treasurer. The programme of his first session embraced a large scheme of local government and a reform of the immigration system. On 24 Dec. 1881 he took the post of colonial secretary instead of treasurer. Probably the most important event of his administration was his annexation of New Guinea to Queensland on 4 April 1883; it was a daring act for a colonial statesman, and, after rousing much criticism at home, was disallowed by Gladstone's government. As an almost immediate result of the disallowance, and to the great indignation of the Australian colonies, Germany seized New Guinea and several places in the Western Pacific; and the imperial government, was shortly compelled to follow McIlwraith's lead and take over a large part of New Guinea. On the question of a railway concession to an English company on the land grant system he was left in a minority at the general election of this year, and resigned office in November 1883, after being twice beaten in the House of Assembly. Very soon after this defeat he left for Great Britain, where he spent some months, receiving the freedom of Ayr and an honorary LL.D. from Glasgow University.

On his return to Queensland McIlwraith professed to have retired from politics, but in 1888 he again stood for parliament, was elected for North Brisbane, and on a programme of a 'national party' came into power at once on 13 June as premier, holding office both as colonial secretary and treasurer. He began by a difference with the governor, Sir Anthony Musgrave [q. v.], on the contention that the latter was bound to follow the advice of his ministers in exercising the crown's prerogative of mercy; the point was decided in Mcllwraith's favour. In October he came into collision with the imperial government on the subject of the appointment of a governor; but in this case his contention was not made good. On 30 Nov. Mcllwraith relinquished the position of premier to Mr. Boyd Dunlop Morehead, though he remained in the cabinet without portfolio and proceeded on a voyage to China and Japan for his health. In September 1889, soon after his return, he split with his colleagues on questions of finance, and in the new session joined with his former opponent, Sir Samuel Griffith, to defeat them. In August 1890 he became colonial treasurer in Griffith's ministry. At this time he received an invitation from Scotland to return 